Ivory Coast faces uphill battle against counterfeit medicine

Mauritania's junta forms 'new government'

A month after a military junta overthrew Mauritania's first democratically-elected government, a new government headed by Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf has been formed.

Mauritania's junta in power since an August 6 coup d'etat announced early Monday the "formation of a government," state television reported.

A statement issued by the presidency of the state council said a 22-minister government headed by Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf had been formed, with effect from Sunday.

Most of the ministers were backers of the coup, whether affiliated with political parties or independents.

At least three of the ministers belonged to the Union of Democratic Forces (RFD), the second party in the national assembly, headed by Ahmed Ould Daddah. But the party immediately issued a statement saying they should be considered as having "automatically resigned."

The RFD said on August 25 it would not take part in the next government as no guarantees had been given on the length of a transition period and the ineligibility of a member of the armed forces to stand as president.

The foreign minister's portfolio went to Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, a former professor of political science at Harvard University in the United States.

After ousting Mauritania's first democratically-elected president, the junta leader, General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, formed a state council comprised of 11 military officials and promised to hold elections quickly.

While the coup has been almost universally condemned by the international community, two-thirds of Mauritania's deputies and senators have supported it.